Venstar Thermostats Provide Best Line of Defense Against Nasty Winter Weather

CHATSWORTH, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 20, 2011) - Venstar®, a leading thermostat and energy management systems supplier, today offered a series of tips for winterizing your home, including the use of their line of energy-saving thermostats, most recent of which is the ColorTouch® series, a multi-functional, simple-to-use, richly featured, programmable touch screen thermostat that thinks it's a digital picture frame.

Winterizing tips include:

• Check doors and entryways of your home to ensure they are properly sealed to prevent cold air from coming into your home.
• Check your insulation. Many houses need it in the attic. You may need to add an extra layer.
• Have your furnace checked before winter weather begins. Scheduling repairs in the wintertime may take longer since maintenance companies are often booked during these months.
• Be sure to have emergency supplies at home -- just in case. The biggest concern at home during the winter is losing power, heat and phone service.
• Install a programmable thermostat, such as ColorTouch, which features a "Scheduler" to keep home temperature comfortable and an "At-a-Glance Screen" which lets users see the temperature and heating/cooling status.

"The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 45 percent of a household's utility bill goes towards paying for heating and cooling," said Steve Dushane, president and CEO of Venstar Inc. "Once homeowners have the cost of heating and cooling their homes under control, they will see significant savings on their utility bills. Our line of programmable thermostats is built to be the most energy-efficient product in the marketplace and can help homeowners effortlessly winterize their homes."

ColorTouch is a multi-functional, simple-to-use, richly featured, programmable touch screen thermostat that thinks it's a digital picture frame. ColorTouch has customizable backgrounds, including the users' own photos, and more than a dozen preset themes, including holiday themes.

Product Features and Benefits include:

• Customizable appearance using users' own photos;
• Built-in nature and holiday themes;
• ColorTouch Assistant software, which makes configuring fast and easy;
• SD Memory Card, making import/export between thermostats easy;
• Engaging screensavers with slideshow, digital and analog clock options;
• "Simple as You Want" operation, which lets users customize the thermostat info on display;
• Scheduler, which keeps home temperature comfortable;
• At-a-Glance Screen, letting users see the temperature and heating/cooling status;
• Nighttime dimmer, which automatically adjusts the screen backlight;
• Energy usage info at the user's fingertips;
• Security features for locking the thermostat;
• Customizable faceplates to match home décor; and
• Automatic daylight savings adjustments, multiple languages, alerts and more.

Availability

Venstar sells ColorTouch via a nationwide distribution network with thousands of contractors. For more information, visit: http://www.venstar.com/Thermostats/ColorTouch
Email: sales@venstar.com
Telephone: 818-812-9930

About Venstar Inc.

Founded in 1992, Venstar Inc. is a leading thermostat and energy management system (EMS) supplier, known for providing value to its customers via ease of use and installation, proven cost savings, improved energy efficiency, quality and reliability. Venstar is one of the largest thermostat suppliers in the world and designs and produces Venstar-branded products, as well as OEM thermostat products for the biggest names in HVAC. Venstar's Surveyor is a leading energy management system, typically saving small-box retailers 25 percent of their energy costs, which translates to millions of dollars in savings and dramatic reductions in C0₂ emissions. Surveyor currently controls the energy usage of more than 13,000 retail locations across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Web site: www.venstar.com